Bob and I are back to short travel days! From Williamsburg to Elizabeth City was only 92 miles! Most of our route was on I-64 until we crossed into North Carolina, then we traveled US 17. I have to say we were pleasantly surprised by US 17. It was a nice, smooth road compared to I-64 and it even had rest areas!
We stopped for lunch at The Great Dismal Swamp State Park which happened to be located at a rest area! We were able to go in the rest area's visitor center and gather information on things to see and do in the Elizabeth City area. After lunch, we walked to the state park and learned a bit about the swamp. Behind the park visitor center we walked the 1/2 mile boardwalk through the swamp. The Great Dismal Swamp Canal was built in the 1800s to help move goods along the waterways to North Carolina ports. Today, there is a bike trail along the side of the canal and you can kayak or canoe on the canal.
After our stop, it was on to Elizabeth City Coast Guard Station where we would spend five days. We had a great site with a view of the Pasquotank River.
Our cell phone, Internet and television all received great signals at our site. Unfortunately, there was a tropical depression approaching the area. We had two days of rain before we were able to get out and explore. Our first foray in to Elizabeth town took us to the waterfront. For those with boats, the city offers free berths for tie-up while you are in town. We also visited Albemarle Museum which offers history of the area.
From Elizabeth City we drove to the Outer Banks. Our lunch stop was Weeping Radish Brewery. Guy Fieri of Food ChannelTripleD fame reviewed it several years ago. Most things on the menu were grown on their farm and made in their kitchen. Bob and I shared the reuben sandwich--they made the pastrami, grew and fermented the sauerkraut, and made the marbled rye bread. It was DELICIOUS!
After lunch, we headed to Kill Devil Hills to visit the Wright Brothers Monument. When it first opened in 1932, this monument housed the visitor center. Now, the bottom of the monument is closed and the visitor center built in the 1950s is being refurbished.
The original flyer is in the Smithsonian and the 1905 version is at Wright Patterson Air Museum in Dayton, Ohio. I always thought this plane looked like it flew backwards!
We walked along the path where the first flight occurred. This stone marks the lift-off point....
...and markers like this mark the length and time of each of the four flights.
From the Wright Brothers Monument, we drove to Fort Raleigh, site of the lost colony of Roanoke Island. It was an interesting place that made you go, ' hmmm, what really happened to the original settlers?' After a long day on the road sightseeing, it was time to head back to Sol to make our plans for the next day.
We planned to head north to Merchants Mill Pond State Park to do some hiking. With all the rain we knew it may be wet, but that didn't stop us!
True to the entrance sign, it was another swamp, in fact, Great Dismal Swamp was not too far from this state park. The early settlers made canals along many of the swamps to make trading by boat easier.
After a look through their visitor center, Bob and I headed for Lassiter Trail, a five mile loop located a little over 1/2 mile from the visitor center. We enjoyed our hike through the swamp....there were only a few places where we had to avoid standing water from the rain. We saw one gopher tortoise and deer tracks, but no other animals.
Most people would look at the green covered water and think it was algae, but it is not. It is duck week, a very small free floating plant. It gathers in places where the water is slow moving. As you can see, there are many cypress trees and cypress knees in this swamp.
Lassiter Trail took us on the high ground around and through the swampy area. We crossed over 25 wooden bridges on this hike.
After our hike, we headed back to Elizabeth City to a seafood market we discovered on our first day. We needed fresh shrimp to skewer and cook on the grill.
After an early dinner of grilled shrimp and coleslaw, it was time to look at the map--our five days were up and it was time to move a bit farther south. Next stop, Cherry Point Marine Corps Station.
1 comment:
I can't believe I was so far behind on reading your blog, all caught up now and it sure looks like a great trip. I was curious where you are with the hurricane coming into Florida. Safe travels!
Post a Comment